Automatic firearm



July 26, 1938. R. DARNE AUTOMATIC FIREARM Filed June 19, 1935 2Sheets-Sheet 1 Patented July 26, 193g circo STATES PATENT OFFICEApplication June 19, 1935,-.Seral No. 27,435 In France June 29, 1934Claims. (Cl. 89-2) The a; present invention relates to automaticfirearms and its object is to provide a firearm of this kind which issafer to operate, easier to take to pieces, and of higher precisionthanfirearms 5 of the same kind made up to this time.

A first feature of the present invention con sists in arranging theparts of the cartridge liftin g conveyer in such manner that thecartridges cannot escape accidentally from said conveyer under theeffect of the vibrations due to the shock of the action carrier againstthe rear Vplate of the breech receiver. Furthermore, according to theinvention, this cartridge lifting conveyer is so arrangedthat, when itreaches its higher position it can move down only when the cartridge isnearly wholly engaged into the chambenthus preventing any possibledistortion of the cartridge when the latter is fed to the barrel.

a a According to anotherfeature of the present 2) invention, the memberintended to limit the, displacement of the action carrier toward thefront is devised in such manner `as to further act as locking means forthe cartridge lifting conveyer and also to be able to guide the movablebreech 125 in perfectly axial relation withthe barrel.

Still another vfeature of the present invention consists in specialmeansfor fixing the feed cam on the action carrier andin the provisionof a servo-pawl device intended to render im- "gj possible the incidentknownunder the name of double feed, this incident consisting in ajamming of the cartridges in the feed passage as a result either of ablunder of the person who uses the firearm or of an insufficiently longAstroke of the mechanism'when the firearm is in action. i

VStill another feature of the present"` invention consists in theprovision of a connecting rod stopping device adapted to act both ways,this device being intended on the one hand to limit a yielding mannerthe displacements of the feed connecting rods which are always broughtat the optimum 'angle into contact with the feed cam, andlon the otherhand to permit the asp sembling of the parts of the firearm whateverbetlie position of the 'pawl carrying slider. i

Still another feature of the present invention consists in providingmeans which, while ensur ing a strong locking of the barrel, permits itto expand withoutiimpairing the precision of the arm il or disturbingits working. v

" Finally, still another feature of the present invention consists inthe 4provision of a device which serves to lock the guard in itsslideway on the breech receiver and also to yieldingly main,-

i? tain the safety member in either of its positions firing, and safety.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be hereinafterdescribed with reference to 'the accompanying drawings, given merelyby`wayof example, and in which:

Figs. 1 and 2 are' a'longitudinal sectional view and a transversesectional View, respectively, illustrating the structure and operationof the cartridge lifting conveyer;

Fig. 3 is a. longitudinal view, in section, of the device for fixing thefeed cam to the action carrier;

Fig. 4 is `a transverse sectional View of the firearm showing theservo-pawl in operation, before the cartridge in position in the feedpassage has been withdrawn from the band of cartridges;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal vertical sectional View corresponding to Fig.4;

Fig. 6,is a View similar to Fig. 4, showing the parts in the positionthey occupy when the cartridge `has been withdrawn from the band;

Eig. `'7 'is a general sectional View showing the whole ofthe firearm.

The action carrier or frame I (Fig. l), which carries breech block 2, isviolently thrown toward the rear by the gases. It rst strikes the buffer3a and then the closure plate 3. Due to inertia, cartridge 4 has atendency to slide in the jawsv 5% of conveyer 5 and to escape upwardlytherefrom under the action of incline 6e which cooperates in`,disengaging the cartridge from n saidV conveyer when said cartridge isengaged into 0 theuchamber ofthe barrel. Several devices were suggested,prior tothe present invention, for causing this part 6 to play the partof an obturator.

l Breech receiver 1 is provided with .two projec- 35 tions l? and 11?andconveyer 5 is providedwith a heelhorzprojection 5c arranged in suchmanner that the rear end of the spring 8 of the conveyer engages saidheelwhen the conveyer is in its upper position. According1y, conveyer 5is pre- 40 vented from moving downwardly when the shock of carrier II onclosureplate 3 occurs. On the other hand, the space between projections'la and IP is suflicientfor permitting the jaws of the conveyer,carrying a cartridge, to pass therebetweenMbut the jaws cannot moveapart from each other, so that cartridge 4 can neither slide toward `therear `nor escape upwardly, this being due 'also 4to the fact that thejaws 5a and 5b of the conveyer are engaged in the groove of thecartridge Vand are of slightly enveloping shape.

, However, Ait is necessary that the conveyer should be able to movedownwardly in the course of its forward movement, so as to be able tocatch another cartridge in the feed passage.

For this purpose, when bent member 9, which serves chiey to guide thefront part of the cartridge toward the chamber, cornes intocontact withthe lowering pin I0, this lever is compelled to pivot about its axis921. The heel 9b of this member 9 then compresses spring 8 downwardlyand disengages it from heel C, thus releasing conveyer 5, which can thenmove downwardly. This arrangement prevents any possibility of thecartridges being distorted when they enter the chamber, since therespective positions of members 5 and I@ are so determined that thedisengagement of the cartridge from the conveyer and its insertion intothe chamber take place before the conveyer can move down.

Piece II, when it strikes the lowering pin III, serves to limit thestroke of the action carrier toward the front. This piece is connectedto tongue I2 through a stirrup I3, and this arrangement enables it toundergo without damage the vibrations and shocks to which it issubjected for each stroke of the action carrier. VAs a matter of fact,piece II bears constantly against the action carrier, at IIa and IIb,without spindle I2 undergoing any stress, owing to the fact that stirrupI3 permits it to slide with respect thereto until it reaches its optimumposition. Furthermore, the movable breech block, which bears against theaction carrier, at la, in the rearward direction, and against piece II,in the frontward direction, is consequently guided in a satisfactorymanner in the axial direction with respect to the barrel. Finally, whenbolt 2 is removed, it suffices to pivot the whole of the system II- IZ-Iabout spindle I2@ into a position at right angles to the axis of theaction carrier in order to easily remove conveyer 5, and also pieces 24and 5, which are normally attached thereto.

Feed cam i5 (Fig. 3) is xed on the action carrier I by means of two pinsI'b and Id which limit its position toward the rear, toward the top andtoward the bottom. A stop piece I5, pivoted at IC, prevents the cam frommoving toward the front when the nose I5 of said piece I5 is engaged ina notch I@a of piece I4. This piece I5 is provided with a notch I5b inwhich is engaged the nose 8a of the spring 8 of the conveyer. When, bymeans of any tool, introduced through a slot provided in piece I5, thenose I5a of piece I5 is depressed out from notch Ma, cam I4 is free tomove toward the front and can thus easily be removed. After the removalof piece I4, piece I5, under the action of spring 8, pivots upwardlyabout axis IC until its heel I5c comes into contact with pin Id. Spring3 then escapes from notch I5b. The remounting is effected in the reverseorder. It suffices to insert the end 8a of spring 8 into notch I5lo andthen to compress said spring through piece I5, which is depressed by camI4, the latter being caused to slide toward the rear until the nose i5aofzstop piece I5 engaged notch Ila. A bent pin, introduced into holes Ieand If acts as a safety member which can be placed in position only whencam I ll is well fitted in position. One of the branches of this pinfurther prevents piston i5 from turning about itself. A hole, providedat Ig, makes it possible to verify that spring 8 is properly engaged innotch I5b.

As shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6, cartridges 50, 50a, 55h, etc., mounted inlinks 5I, Sla, 5Ib, etc., are fed successively into position in linewith the axis of the machine gun, so as to be ready to be caught by theconveyer, the feed movement being imparted to the band of cartridges bypawl 55, pivotally mounted on slider 56, itself controlled by connectingrods interconnected with the action carrier. It will be readilyunderstood that, if, for some reason, and especially due to aninsuiciency of the stroke, the conveyer does not catch the cartridge, itwould be impossible to rearm the machine gun if pawl 55 were capable ofbringing cartridge 5I)a into the position occupied by cartridge 50 whilethe latter has not yet been extracted from the band by the conveyer.

In order to avoid this incident, commonly called double feed, the actionof the pawl is controlled by a member 5T or servo-pawl. As long ascartridge 55 has not been removed from the band of cartridges, and fromthe feed passage, by the conveyer, it keeps servo-pawl 5l, pivoted at51a to slider 56 in lowered position. The nose 5'!b of said pawl 51 actson pawl 55, itself pivoted at 55a and keeps it in inoperative position.

It should be noted that, in Fig. 5, cartridge 5I! is suspended in thefeed passage between the upper stop member 52 and the lower stop member53, on the one hand, and fork 54, on the other hand. Cartridge 5Bdepresses servo-pawl 5l through link 5I In normal operation of themachine gun, cartridge 50 is withdrawn from the band. Consequently, thelink 5I in which said cartridge was carried can now move upwardly (Fig.6) and ceases to depress servo-pawl 5l, which releases pawl 55. Thelatter is thus in a position to bring a new cartridge 5E)ad into theplace of the cartridge 50 removed from the conveyor.

The gun shown is of the type actuated by gas. The bolting of the movablebreech 2 between the back of the gun and the breech receiver 'I in thespecification 'Ia provided for that purpose as well as the unlocking ofthe breech 2 are produced by the movements of the carrier mechanism I.The carrier mechanism is actuated in the usual manner by admitting aportion of the combustion gases so as to act upon the piston I6 locatedin advance of the carrier mechanism and on the other hand by thereaction action of the spring a. The admission of a portion of thecombustion gases is secured through the gas chamber I6 which is incommunication with the barrel 'I5 of the gun and with the tube 'I8located in front of the piston I5.

When a shot is red the entire assembly of the carrier mechanism and thebreech block is moved towards the rear under the action of the gas uponthe piston I6. At the extreme end the carrier mechanism comes intocontact with the element 3fL which is under the action of a spring. Thespring a then acts to drive back the assembly towards the front partwhile raising the cartridge G and introducing the same into the chamberof the barrel while at the same time closing the breech. The carriermechanism I comprises a heavy portion b` which has the inclined surfacesc and c1 acting upon correspondingly inclined surfaces upon the breechblock in order to cause a bolting thereof during its forward movementand an unlocking upon its rearward movement.

While I have, in the above description, disclosed what I deem to bepractical and efficient embodiments of the present invention, it shouldbe well understood that I do not Wish to be limited thereto as theremight be changes made in the arrangement, disposition and form of theparts without departing from the principle of the present invention ascomprehended within the scope of the appended claims.

What I claim is:

1. An automatic firearm comprising a breech block receiver, an actioncarrier movable in said breech receiver, a barrel fixed to said breechreceiver, a barrel chamber for the cartridges, a feed passage, a devicefor conveying the cartridges from said passage to said chamber, saiddevice comprising a cartridge lifting carrier having pivoted theretogrippers and a cartridge supporting lever, said grippers having externalplane surfaces and internal bosses on said receiver cooperating withsaid plane surfaces preventing spreading of said grippers on the forwardstroke of said action carrier.

2. An automatic firearm comprising a breech -block receiver, an actioncarrier movable in said breech receiver, a barrel fixed to said breechreceiver, a barrel chamber for the cartridges, a feed passage, a devicefor conveying the cartridges from said passage to said chamber, saiddevice comprising a cartridge lifting carrier having pivoted theretogrippers and a cartridge supporting lever, said cartridge liftingcarrier having a shoulder, a spring engaging said shoulder preventingdownward movement of said lifting carrier and means operative by saidsupporting lever disengaging said spring and permitting downwardmovement of said lifting carrier.

3. An automatic firearm comprising a breech block receiver, an actioncarrier movable in said breech receiver, a barrel fixed to said breechreceiver, a barrel chamber for the cartridges, a feed passage, a devicefor conveying the cartridges from said passage to said chamber, saiddevice comprising a cartridge lifting carrier having pivoted theretogrippers and a cartridge supporting lever, said cartridge liftingcarrier having a shoulder, a spring engaging said shoulder preventingdownward movement of said lifting carrier, a fixed abutment, a camsurface on said lever cooperating with said spring to dsengage the samefrom said shoulder upon contact of said lever with said abutment,whereby said lifting carrier is disengaged from a cartridge and is readyfor a succeeding cartridge.

4. An automatic firearm comprising a breech block receiver, an actioncarrier movable in said breech receiver, a barrel fixed to said breechreceiver, a barrel chamber for the cartridges, a feed passage, a devicefor conveying the cartridges fromV said Ypassage to said chamber, said,Y

device comprising a cartridge lifting carrier having pivoted theretogrippers and a cartridge supporting lever and a member pivoted to saidlifting carrier serving to take the forward shocks to said actioncarrier and also to lock said lifting carrier in said breech receiver.

5. An automatic firearm comprising a breech block receiver, an actioncarrier movable in said breech receiver, a barrel xed to said breechreceiver, a barrel chamber for the cartridges, a feed passage, a devicefor conveying the cartridges from said passage to said chamber, saiddevice comprising a cartridge lifting carrier having pivoted theretogrippers and a cartridge supporting lever and a member pivoted andlongitudinally slidable to said lifting carrier serving to take theforward shocks to said action carrier and also to lock said liftingcarrier in said breech receiver.

REGIS DARNE.

